Proposed commission to decide MPs’ salary gets good response

Visakhapatnam, Sep 30 (IANS) The government’s proposal to set up an independent emoluments commission to determine the salary and allowances for members of parliament found support at a conference of chief whips of legislatures held here.

Adopting a resolution in this regard, the conference also urged the states to ensure uniformity in salaries for legislators across the country with varying allowances depending on the situation in each state, a statement issued here on Wednesday said.

The ministry of parliamentary affairs has proposed a three-member emoluments commission to determine the salary and allowances of MPs, keeping in view the responsibilities of MPs in a fair, transparent and equitable manner.

The proposal was extensively deliberated at the 17th All India Whips Conference and was adopted on Wednesday.

The conference urged the central and state governments to take lead in establishing inter-party forums in parliament and state legislatures for enabling regular dialogue to tackle contentious and vexed issues. These forums would work informally and enable better performance of the Houses, the statement said.

It also sought revision of guidelines for implementation of MPLADS (Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme) and analogous schemes in the states to make them more flexible for effectively catering to the needs of local people by addressing infrastructure gaps.